Defendant in murder trial wrestled to the floor

SANTA ANA – A defendant in a murder trial was tackled by bailiffs Tuesday when he refused to leave the courtroom after a judge denied his request to represent himself.

In the latest in a series of courtroom disruptions, Miguel Alexander Vargas, 28, shouted "I'm not f------- going!" after his bid to act as his own lawyer was turned down. Sheriff's deputies Scott Mitchell and John Delgadillo took Vargas – who was shackled and handcuffed – to the floor near the clerk's desk and restrained him.

Vargas, charged with stabbing his common-law wife, Annette Angelina Alvarado, 23, of Placentia, to death Feb. 5, 2009, was apparently uninjured in the fracas, which took place outside the presence of about 60 potential jurors. Mitchell suffered some bruising on his face, according to court staff.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon, about three hours after Vargas was forcibly removed from court after he ignored Judge William Froeberg's orders to remain quiet and instead tried to talk to the jury pool directly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this case is fake," Vargas shouted to the prospective jurors who had just taken the oath to serve in Froeberg's 10th-floor courtroom. "I have spoken to the victim. ... The victim is still alive."

When Vargas continued his rant despite warnings from the judge, he was taken out of the courtroom with his feet shackled and his hands chained to his waist after his would-be jurors were asked to wait in the hallway.

Court-appointed defense attorney Roger Carey then sat next to an empty chair at the counsel table as jury selection began without his client. Vargas, who protested that he thought it was illegal to continue the trial without him, watched the rest of the morning's proceedings through a small window in an adjacent holding cell behind a locked door.

When the trial resumed after the lunch break, Vargas demanded that he be allowed to defend himself, triggering the scuffle.

It was the second time that Vargas has battled with bailiffs. In May, he was tackled in the holding cell when he refused to cooperate after contentious pretrial hearing in which he called Froeberg an "a f------ idiot."

He again promised the judge during another pretrial hearing Monday that he would continue to be disruptive when prospective jurors were brought into the courtroom.

"I'm not going to sit here and be quiet while my life is being ... threatened," Vargas said. "This is my life. ... You go home at the end of the day. I don't. I go back to a place where I hate. ... We'll never finish with this jury."

He tried to fulfill that promise Tuesday. But Froeberg told him the trial would proceed despite the antics. "If you are on good behavior, you will be here," Froeberg said. "If you act out again, you probably won't be." The judge added that he would allow Vargas back in the courtroom if he promised to follow instructions and cooperate.

Federal officials said in 2009 that Vargas was in the U.S. illegally and should have been deported a week before the slaying when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence, also involving Alvarado. Instead, he was released from jail. Nine days later, Alvarado was dead.

Deputy District Attorney David Porter contends Vargas stabbed Alvarado on Feb. 5, 2009, when he accosted her in her Placentia home as their 4-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son watched. Vargas was chased out of the home by Alvarado's father, who rushed in with a baseball bat when he heard the commotion and saw Vargas on top of Alvarado, according to court records.

Vargas fled from the Placentia neighborhood immediately after the stabbing by carjacking a friend's car by telling the friend, "You have to get out of the car if you don't want to be an accomplice to murder," according to court documents.

The friend had driven to the home and waited outside.

Vargas has insisted repeatedly during previous court appearances that Alvarado isn't dead even though he has been shown autopsy photos and has listened to the testimony about how their children witnessed the attack. His son told authorities shortly after the incident, "Daddy's the one who killed my mommy," according to court documents. The autopsy revealed that Alvarado had been stabbed 25 times.

Vargas, born in El Salvador, was arrested by Mexican authorities Feb. 16, 2009, in Tijuana and turned over to U.S. border officials. He has been held in Orange County Jail ever since on murder and carjacking charges.

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